3. ‘Give Women The Power To Determine Their Future’ by Melinda Gates

On the eve of her London Summit on Family Planning in July, Melinda Gates wrote a piece for CNN.com explaining her goal to distribute birth control to 120 million women and girls in the developing world. Her commitment to family planning wasn’t surprising—the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation has long supported it—but as a practicing Catholic, her outspokenness incited many religious bloggers, one of whom called her plan “a blatant attack on Catholic morality.” Gates diplomatically downplayed the critiques. “As a Catholic I believe in this religion,” she told a British newspaper after the controversy erupted. “There are amazing things about this religion, amazing moral teachings that I do believe in, but I also have to think about how we keep women alive. I believe in not letting women die.”